The present invention is directed to an adjustable reticle device and more specifically to a dual reticle device wherein each reticle is independently adjustable toward and away from a center line as well as in the up and down direction by means of two separate control knobs for each reticle device.
Such an adjustable reticle device is used in conjunction with a telescopic rifle sight in Running Target marksmanship. International Running Target as a shooting sport began in Scandinavia as a practice for hunters and has evolved into a precise, demanding sport recognized officially by the International Shooting Union. The standard target is a Running Boar which is moved at a fixed speed across a 10 meter opening on a 50 meter range. The use of an adjustable reticle in conjunction with a telescopic sight is acceptable in the sport.
It is generally old and well known in the art to provide some means for adjusting a reticle or reticles vertically and/or horizontally. For example, the U.S. Pat. No. 476,874, to Cummins, granted June 14, 1892, discloses a telescopic rifle sight having thumb-screws GP whereby the globe M is aligned with globe C. The globe M is moved independently of globe C.
The U.S. Pat. No. 1,950,790, to Fjrenwald, granted Mar. 13, 1934, discloses a gun sight having means for moving a single reticle vertically and another means for moving the reticle horizontally.
The U.S. Pat. No. 2,094,623, to Stokey, granted Oct. 5, 1937, discloses a double reticle which is shown in FIG. 10 at 76 and 78. When a missle is sighted, the reticle 76 is moved along the path travelled by the missle and simultaneously the reticle 78 moves in the opposite direction.
The Nickel riflescope was specially developed for use on Running Boar and provides two reticle posts which are individually adjustable in elevation and windage. All telescopic sights have first and second focal planes. The adjustable reticle of Nickel is located in the first focal plane. Since a reticle in this plane will magnify and become larger to the eye as the power is increased in variable power scopes, such an arrangement is objectionable to many shooters.